Radio, TV presenter and author Greg James is currently embarking on a strenuous cycle ride to gather funds for Comic Relief. Radio 1's Longest Ride sees him pedalling an exhausting distance of 1,000km over eight days.

The route commenced in Weymouth and Greg's journey is leading him through Wales, the Midlands and the North of England, culminating in Edinburgh on Friday, March 20 - Red Nose Day itself.

His expedition is being chronicled on Radio 1 as well as BBC One's Morning Live each day when the programme broadcasts from 9.30am. He is emulating Morning Live hosts Gethin Jones and Helen Skelton who last year participated in a 24-hour roller-skating challenge for Comic Relief.

London-born Greg is renowned for his Radio 1 Breakfast Show as well as hosting podcasts and TV programmes like Rise And Fall and Sounds Like Friday Night but what about his life outside the limelight?

We delve into the 40-year-old's pop star ex, marriage to his famous wife and his forthright message about family pressures, reports the Mirror.

Greg was in a relationship with singer Ellie Goulding for two years after meeting at one of the Starry Eyed hitmaker's live performances. In August 2010 she confessed in an interview that they were dating.

However, the couple reportedly struggled to find time for each other due to their hectic schedules. The pair decided to end their relationship just before the festive season in 2012, with Ellie moving out of their shared flat.

She subsequently described the separation as "unexpected" stating: "You might be with someone you think you know everything about, then it takes just one thing to throw it all into the wind," reports CloserOnline.

Ellie went on to wed art dealer Caspar Jopling in 2019 with the pair welcoming their first child in 2021 before parting ways. Earlier this month, Ellie welcomed her second child, a daughter called Iris, with her new partner, Beau Minniear.

Greg has been blissfully married to journalist and author Bella Mackie for seven years after she proposed to him back in 2018.

Greg revealed the news several months after her proposal when he posted to Instagram sharing a photograph and penned: "This is Bella and in February she asked me to marry her. I said yes immediately because she is the smartest, funniest and most beautiful person I've ever met.

"The only problem is she loves staying up into the early hours drinking as much as I do and this is not conducive with 5am alarms. That said, it's been quite a year."

Following their nuptials, he shared photographs to his social media account stating: "Bella and I got married and it was the most incredible day of my life. I think it was up there for her too. She is the best thing ever and I feel like I might actually burst with happiness."

Bella - who, like her husband, is also from London - has worked for the likes of VICE and The Guardian and has published a number of novels. She adopted the moniker Mackie to set herself apart from her father, journalist Alan Rusbridger who served as the editor-in-chief of The Guardian from 1995-2015.

Greg has penned children's books and last year he released his autobiography titled All The Best For The Future, which sparked numerous queries about whether he and Bella plan to start a family during its promotion.

He took to Instagram to share a candid message on the topic. In a video post, a question appears: Should you have kids or not?

Greg begins the clip by stating: "There is no pressure on you to have kids. You might think there is. But there isn't. You don't have to have kids if you don't want to."

As he continues to discuss his book, he concedes he wrote it in an attempt to assist people. He acknowledges that the portion of the work dedicated to having children is the part that has "really resonated" with the public.

"I feel the pressure. I have felt the pressure," he admitted. "Because my sister had kids, my friends are having kids, the world says you should have them. I never, it never crossed my mind when I was growing up to go 'oh, I might not have kids'.

"I just always assumed I'd be a dad because nobody said to me 'you don't have to'. I'm here to tell you, you don't have to."

Greg then declared: "You can have a great life with kids. You can have a great life without them. I think that's it."

And making his thoughts clear, he continued: "My number one thing is, and I don't know if this is controversial, if you don't know and you've discussed it properly with your partner or whoever you want to have a kid with, if you don't know, I think it's best not to.

"There are loads of s*** parents around and you don't want to be another one. That kid deserves people who are really up for it."

As he continued, Greg said he didn't want to be accused of being a "misery guts" with his thoughts. He revealed he loves all the children in his life, including those who enjoy his kids' books.

However, he said it's important we "stop asking people flippantly" if they're going to have kids. "Let's cut that out," he insisted before saying "keep your f***ing beaks out, okay?"

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